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Innovative Energy & Research | ISSN: 2576-1463 | Volume 7
Renewable Energy and Resources
Energy Materials and Fuel Cell Research
2
nd
International Conference on
&
August 27-28, 2018 | Boston, USA
From waste treatment to resource recovery: AChicago sustainability story
Kuldip Kumar, Albert Cox, Heng Zhang, Thomas Kunetz, Edward Podczerwinski
and
Debra Shore
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, USA
T
he Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (District) was created in 1889 by the Illinois Legislature.
It is a special purpose district that collects and treats wastewater generated by the City of Chicago and 128 suburban
communities in Cook County and also has stormwater management authority for the county. The District’s service area is
883 square miles. It operates and maintains seven water reclamation plants with a total design average flow of nearly two
billion gallons per day, 22 pump stations, 560 miles of intercepting sewers, 34 stormwater detention reservoirs, seven aeration
stations in the Chicago and Calumet River Systems, and the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) including 109 miles of deep
tunnels and three combined sewer overflow reservoirs with a combined storage capacity of over 20 billion gallons. In 2015, the
District received authority to recover resources for resale from its operations to help offset treatment costs. This presentation
will provide information on new programs at the District to recover nutrients, and generate biosolids products, energy, and
clean water from wastewater and a wide range of other local renewable resources. The District has established a commitment
to becoming a sustainable partner in the region by recovering resources, lowering carbon emissions, creating new revenue
streams and promoting resiliency.
Biography
Kuldip Kumar is a Senior Environmental Scientist with MWRD Chicago. He was more than 25 years of experience in the area of water quality especially fate and
transport of nutrients and other environmental stressors like pharmaceuticals and personal care products. For the last 5 years, his research has been focused on
‘Resources Recovery from Wastewater’. He manages the research program on utilizing algae to recover nutrients from wastewater and develop markets for algae
biomass based on its characteristics. He has published over 70 research articles/book chapters and has served on many federal grant review panels.
KumarK@mwrd.orgKuldip Kumar et al., Innov Ener Res 2018, Volume 7
DOI: 10.4172/2576-1463-C2-005